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MANY UK SCIENCE TEACHERS PLAN TO QUIT

(P1) Science teachers are the teachers most likely to consider quitting the classroom, according to new research suggesting that many feel OVERWHELMED by the work.

(P2) The results of the survey are ALARMING, given the SHORTAGE of experienced science teachers in many schools.

(P3) Nearly seven out of ten science specialists (69 per cent) have considered quitting teaching in the last six months. A high workload and dissatisfaction with their school’s leadership and management were the main reasons given by science teachers for wanting to quit.

(P4) The study found a WIDESPREAD “sense of DISILLUSIONMENT” across the teaching profession, with more than half (59 per cent) of all teachers surveyed considering leaving in the past 6 months.

(P5) The study of more than 1,000 teachers in England comes amid growing concerns around teacher shortages.

(P6) 59% of teachers have considered quitting in the past six months.

(P7) 76% blamed the workload, while 29% said they did not get enough support.

(P8) 43% are unhappy with the quality of leadership; 41% blamed pay.

(P9) 92% said the chance to make a difference in pupils’ lives was a major motivation for staying.

(P10) In November 2014 there were over 1,000 unfilled fulltime teacher VACANCIES in English schools, more than two and a half times as many as in 2010. Meanwhile, another 3,000 posts were only temporarily filled.

(P11) Science teachers were significantly more likely to complain about pay with 48 per cent saying that their low salary had prompted them to consider quitting, compared to 43 per cent for all teachers surveyed.

(P12) They were also much less likely to recommend teaching. Nearly two thirds of science teachers (62 per cent) would not recommend teaching to their brightest student compared to 49 per cent for all teachers.

(P13) Shaun Reason, chief executive of the Association for Science Education, said that new science teachers probably started on roughly the same salaries as fellow science graduates but could become dissatisfied when they saw their contemporaries working in industry OVERTAKE their pay.

(P14) Alan Smithers, director of Buckingham University’s Centre for Education and Employment Research, said: “Science teachers really have got a difficult job to do in schools. They are responsible for classes that involve a lot of HASSLE and 20 to 30 potentially UNRULY students.”

(P15) The most common reason for choosing to train as a teacher, amongst those surveyed, was that people think they will be good at it – with 93 per cent saying it was an important factor in encouraging them to choose teaching.

(P16) Teachers said their main reason for staying in teaching was feeling they were having an impact, with 92 per cent saying the opportunity to make a difference in pupils’ lives was an important motivation for them.

(P17) Rod Bristow, President of Pearson UK, said: “This research points to a simple conclusion: teachers want to make a difference for our children; when they feel that they can’t do that, for whatever reason, we risk losing them from the profession.”

If you found the passage difficult to read or had problems understanding specific words or idiomatic expressions, please discuss them with your tutor. The following discussion questions should be answered in your own words and with your own arguments.

Briefly summarize the content of the article in your own words.

What was your favorite subject in school? Which subject did you like the least?

Do you have any family members or friends who have worked as teachers?

If university graduates in the sciences can make much money working in industry, why would they consider teaching as a profession?